I have a customer that is 3 hrs away that I have been trying to help with a low battery chirp. The 5808W3 after detecting a low battery will blink red for 7 days. After this 7 days it will chirp. Well 14 days ago I talked them through changing the batteries in 2 of these detectors. They called back 7 days later "7 days ago" that the chirping had returned. The batteries they had used were a generic online brand. Thinking that it may have been a bad batch of batteries I asked them to buy a better brand and give it another a try. They called back today being 7 days later that they are chirping again. The detectors are only 3 years old and were not happy about having to buy 2 more already. I called honeywell tech support. They advised to remove the battery and connect a jumper lead to the positive/negative terminals of the smoke detector for 10 sec. I understand why they want me to try this but wanted to ask you guys if you had tried this before and if there is anything else I may try before I ask them to purchase new ones. Honestly I may just give them the 2 smokes and eat the cost. I would hate to loose a customer over this. Thanks

I called the customer and asked them to remove the battery for 2-3 min then place battery back in it. I imagine this would be the same as doing the jumper wire trick to drain power. 2-3 min is probably over kill but just wanted to be sure lol. I haven't got a call back yet.I did see on another forum that it is common procedure to wait 20 sec before putting a new battery in. I did not know this. I guess I'm just naturally slow at replacing batteries lol

From the installation manualTo replace the battery:1. Remove the detector from its mounting base by twisting the detector counterclockwise. Remove the battery, and dispose properly.2. To ensure proper power-down sequence, wait a minimum of 20 seconds before installing new battery.3. Install a new 3-volt CR123A Lithium battery in the battery compartment. Follow the polarity diagram inside the compartment.4. Reinstall the smoke detector onto the mounting base by turning the detector clockwise.5. Test the detector as described in the TESTING SIGNAL STRENGTH section of this manual. The green LED should blink about once every 10 seconds to indicate normal operation. If the battery is not installed correctly, the smoke detector will not operate and the battery may be damaged. If the detector does not appear to be sending a signal during any of the tests, check for correct battery installation and for a fully charged battery.

It's probably user error. I find it unlikely both of the detector's would malfunction at the same time. Ask them what brand batteries they are attempting to put in the smoke detector. If I remember correctly, Honeywell is very specific about which brand of CR123's can be installed in the detector.

EDIT: I've had my 5808W3's for over 6 years and I haven't had to replace a battery yet. I find it odd their detectors are only 3 years old and already need a battery replacement.

If it were not for the fact that this is occurring every 7 days, I'd tell the client to check their 110 volt smokes. Countless times I've received calls from clients about smoke low batteries. I check activity and see nothing. I then have them check for trouble on the keypad. And more often than not, it is traced to a 110 smoke.

As a dealer however, sometimes you do have to eat the cost for customer relations. I've given plenty of free labor and the occasional free part for good, long term customers. Those customers turn into referrers for new clients so I usually come out ahead in the long run.

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1993-1995 Worked for one of the "nationals" / 1996-Present Independent dealerSystems supported: DSC, Ademco/Honeywell, ITI/GE/Interlogix-----------------------------To the world you may be one person, but to one person you are the world.- Kidney transplant recipient 04/27/2011

Thank you guys for the help. I do believe it was user error. I ended up replacing the devices to be safe. I brought them back to the office for testing and have been good for about 2 weeks so far. Being they are about 5 years old I can't resell them though I'll keep them if I ever get in a bind or something. Man I can't tell you how many times I've had a customer say our smoke, CO or whatever is beeping and ended up being the 120v smokes, battery back-up or something not related to the alarm system. Just comes with the job huh. Thanks again!